Unexpected Spark for Relationship

When do couples start “missing” each other, and how do intimate connections become about bills, teacher conferences and the right thing to do for aging parents?

Taking a weekend away and turning off the television to have a real conversation are two popular suggestions for reigniting the spark in relationship. There may be something else going on when these activities lose momentum in creating the kind of sustainable oomph your relationship wants though.

So what now?

You may be looking for the answer to that question in the wrong place. While carving out quality couple time is vital to reigniting and sustaining the spark in relationship, it is often a more effective step when taken further down the path. In other words, you are probably not starting at the beginning, and that can definitely throw off your game and its results.

This is a cue to slow down, and back up for a moment. The truth is that starting from the beginning is the only place where change catches fire.

You can only start from where you are, and the unexpected key in that sentence is you. This can seem off-course when focusing on relationship. Think about it though. What do you bring to all your relationships, including your most intimate relationship? You bring yourself.

Where you are in relationship with yourself affects all of your relationships, including your most intimate one. So it follows that you, not the relationship, are the place from where to start because when you change, your relationship naturally changes.

Follow these three simple steps and watch what unfolds in your relationship.

Step One: Start from the Beginning
When one or both partners feel the desire to deepen the connection, it is best to start from the beginning. Look first to deepen the quality of connection with yourself. What are your dreams, disappointments, the little things that make you smile? What about you has stayed consistent? What has changed? What wasn’t as you expected it to be?

Step Two: Lighten Things Up
Keep a sense of humor, and let yourself laugh at the craziness of life. Shifting your energy in this way opens new perspectives, ideas, and is a far more powerful change agent than any words you have for yourself or your spouse.

Step Three: Trust the Process
As one or both partners deepen the connection with self, it will naturally expand into a more fulfilling level of connection in the relationship. So now when you turn off the television to talk, you don’t have to try too hard, or have a certain level of expertise. The relationship simply changes because one partner has changed. It only takes one.

Rise above the excitement of getting to where you want to be and commit to shifting something in yourself first. Practicing awareness, patience and trust in the process, renews the spark in relationship and moves it to new levels.

And the right next step reveals itself from there.

 

Is YOUR Business Ready for This?

After last week’s “How Authentic is Your Business?” call, I heard from many of you that this concept of the relationship business model is really pulling you towards learning more. 

And that doesn’t surprise me, because right now many creative entrepreneurs are being challenged through their business.  The thing is that your business is actually pointing you in its next direction through these challenges.  You can only create AUTHENTIC, sustainable change if you have learned how to recognize and interpret their messages. 

Now that we have exited the Information Overload Era, one of the things that is ready to be addressed is the structure you build your business on.  Your visions, ideas and contributions need to have the right structure in order to take form in the physical world.  As an idea or a vision, it’s still in energy form, and needs the right structure to be manifested in the physical world.  This is a significant source in the challenges many authentic businesses face as they build or re-build. 

Many creative entrepreneurs aren’t even aware that there are different options to the business model they choose.  Many of you have not ever heard of the relationship business model. 

Let’s go back to the Information Overload Era for just a moment so that I can give you a real life example to truly understand what’s ready to happen for YOUR business now.  Think back just a few months ago, when most of the “teachers” were teaching on the phone to hundreds, even thousands of listeners.  You would receive back-up lines in case you couldn’t get into the call, right. 

This is also the era where we saw business owners working with multiple coaches, in multiple programs, on multiple FREE teleclasses in any given week, part of a few different masterminds, etc. 

Now, remember that creativity only happens through FOCUSED energy, not scattered energy.  Yet with all these voices and messages coming in, it’s easy to see that there couldn’t be a lot of focus happening, right?

Well, that’s only the first layer of what was going on.  These teachers were also serving as the model for many creative entrepreneurs to build their business on.  This model became the structure through which your visions and ideas were to take form in the physical world.  For many, something was not quite right though. 

Whether these teachers were modeling for you consciously or not is beside the point.  The point is that for many creative entrepreneurs, this model became the antithesis of the corporate definition of success, and appeared to be the right choice.  Except that you had more than one choice, you just didn’t know it. 

If this model worked for you, I know you wouldn’t be reading these words right now, so I’m pretty confident to say that some wasn’t quite right in your experience.  That is because you inadvertently were experiencing a misalignment of energy between the inside and the outside, and the structure was not aligned with your vision and ideas. 

This is why I’m introducing you to the relationship business model, which focuses more on quality than on quantity.  It’s not about how many people you can get on your list or to sign up for your programs.  It goes deeper than that. 

This model takes into account the building and deepening of relationship between you and your clients.  It’s actually part of the model so that the clients who do come to you are the “right” fit on multiple levels, you are able to shine your authentic light, and you and your clients actually grow together, along with your business..  Oh, let me add, that’s a healthy growth. 

Does the relationship model intrigue you?  Do you want to learn more about it?  Listen to one of our Replay Events for the “How Authentic is YOUR Business” call this week.  The Creative Entrepreneurs Collaborative, which will teach you more about this model, and how to bring it into YOUR AUTHENTIC business beginning next Tuesday. 

The relationship model is the structure that allows what’s authentic for you on multiple levels; it’s not just about business as usual.  I look forward to introducing and modeling this powerful model for you so that you can really begin to “get” what’s happening, and apply it to your own authentic business. 

Create your own personal breakthrough energy, and be a co-creator in the community breakthrough energy that’s happening at my blog. Let us know what you experience as you see, but can’t touch that breakthrough energy, and what is on the other side of it. 

If you would like to use this article in your newsletter or blog, please feel free to do so as long as you include our credit information: Written by Kathy Esper, Kathy Esper Enterprises, http:/www.KathyEsper.com. I would also appreciate it if you’d send us a copy for our media files. ©Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.

 

Don’t Let this Information Fall Short of Supporting YOUR Business

Many of the big marketers are talking about authenticity in business right now, and it’s interesting to me, because many of them are citing this as the new “trend” in marketing.  

While there is some truth to that statement, when an “expert” offers guidance like this, they are careful to cite that this is what they are observing marketing leaders who set our trends doing now. 

This observation, in and of itself is not a bad thing, heck, it’s actually very authentic for many of these experts. 

But just how does this “observed” information support (or fall short) of supporting YOUR business?).  

It is your job to discern this for your business, although, there really isn’t much out there to teach you “how” to do this.  Today’s article serves as an example of part of the relationship business owner’s perspective as it relates to this information around authenticity in business as a marketing trend. 

If you are a long-term reader of my newsletter, you know that I am a huge proponent of the relationship business model.  In fact, I believe that at the heart of the matter for businesses that have lost their way lies the simple fact that they have lost touch with relationship skills for business. 

If you are reading this newsletter, I’d say that this type of model resonates for you…your work affects personal, intimate results at the core.  These are the kind of results that consciously take into account how others will be affected, and that don’t require you to “give up your soul” to create these results through a healthy business that inspires you every day from the inside-out. 

Are you with me so far?  Okay, so the structure to build such a business on is the relationship business model.  No matter how many readers, listeners or followers you have, if the relationship business model is authentically yours to begin with, you will hold onto that model, because it is true for you.  Not because you “observed” it as a trend among market leaders. 

Can you see the difference? 

Now this doesn’t make an expert’s approach bad; it’s just that there’s a good chance it’s different from yours.  It’s a different structure.  And your vision, while it is still energy, needs the right kind of structure to express in the physical world. 

So if building or re-building an authentic business feels “right” for you, I encourage you to consider how you will receive, transfer, and act on the information that is coming in to you right now.  Even if it works for an “expert,” it may or may not work for you. 

Is the information purely intellectual?  Do you receive this information on a cellular level?  Do you understand how to authentically transfer it into your business?  

Asking yourself these and other questions is the smartest thing you can do as the leader of a healthy, wealthy, business whose structure is the relationship business model. 

What did you learn from today’s article?  How did it open your eyes to a different way of responding to information you’re learning about authenticity in business right now? 

If you are ready to learn more about how to choose, transfer and act on the right information for your business, sign up for my *FREE* call this Thursday at 7pET/4pPT.   CEC APRIL 15^th FREE CALL REGISTRATION

Ask yourself, are you responding to information like our young Shadow, running around in a frenzy to implement this “success secret” right away, or are you calmly taking it all in and discerning what is authentic for your business, how to transfer it to your business, when and how to act on it.  

If it’s truly good information for YOU, don’t let it fall short of supporting your business.

Create your own personal breakthrough energy, and be a co-creator in the community breakthrough energy that’s happening at my blog. Let us know what you experience as you see, but can’t touch that breakthrough energy, and what is on the other side of it. 

If you would like to use this article in your newsletter or blog, please feel free to do so as long as you include our credit information: Written by Kathy Esper, Kathy Esper Enterprises, http:/www.KathyEsper.com. I would also appreciate it if you’d send us a copy for our media files. ©Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.

 

Intrigue is Pointing You in an Important Direction

So many of you were sharing your “intrigue” of the transformational work I am privileged to do with the horses, I decided to play with the word “intrigue” in other contexts as I coached my private clients.

The experiment showed me that “intrigue” is indeed something that many of you not only feel at a deep level, it’s actually pointing you in new and better directions for your business.  These new directions can be a little scary, a little uncomfortable, or frankly, a big stretch.  So they are noted, and put aside for “later” attention.

Does this sound familiar to you?  I invite you to take a closer look, because intrigue actually holds powerful clues to move you in new and better directions.  The question is two-fold; first, are you recognizing the clue that is right in front of but that you can’t “see,” and second, what are you doing to follow-through on the information that clue holds for you?

Are you secretly happy that we’ve left the Information Overload Era?  Or maybe you’re secretly afraid of losing that familiar “security blanket,” and you continue to learn in the old paradigm.

Continuous learning and consistent improvement are common traits of our most successful and fulfilled people, no matter what kind of work they do or life they lead.  And these traits move with us into the new paradigm of success.

As a creative-conscious entrepreneur, and someone who follows my work regularly, I am confident that you possess these traits, and that as you navigate personal and collective shifts in your own business, you are likely hitting a sticky point in these areas.  And you may or may not be consciously aware of it.

Here’s the rub.  Continuous improvement is comprised of many different things, and in no small part is continuous learning a part of the continuous improvement practice.  Up until now, our society has in large part “learned” primarily through intellectual knowledge.  And remember, we have just exited the Information Overload Era. 

From my perspective, this name not only defined the “too much of a good thing” aspect of that time, it also indicates that intellectual information, or information that comes in through the brain in the head dominated.  For many people, even creative-conscious entrepreneurs, we suppressed, ignored, or de-valued (maybe all three) the information that comes in through different and stronger channels.

I know I found myself in this situation.  I am very creative, highly kinesthetic, and have only truly learned through the experiential learning process.  And still, that part of me that is practical, and had known “success” in the corporate world, was still fighting the non-intellectual information that was coming in, often introduced by intrigue, and pointing me in a direction that would reveal the next layer of my Authentic Self. 

So what can you take away from this conversation?  My intention is that something about this discussion opens up that conscious place in you that knows something is “off” for you.  And this “off” piece may or may not align with your outer circumstances, or the results you’re currently creating in your business.

By having the courage to dig deep, get down and dirty, and journey through the raw truth, are you really able to practice continuous learning in this brave new time.  And once that window is opened, there’s just no turning back, is there?

Based on my personal journey, and on the experience many of you are having as you courageously encounter this “sticky” point in the process, I have shifted the Allowing Freedom through the Spirit of the Horse Retreat that is coming in May.  It is designed using all sources of information, so that it will move you to your next level of authenticity, because I know you know that “like attracts like.”

Watch for a special email coming this week for more details on this exclusive retreat for creative-conscious entrepreneurs, as well as how to schedule a call with me to ensure that this is the right place at the right time for you to be now.

My consciousness invites your consciousness to courageously step into more of who you are. 

Namaste.
Create your own personal breakthrough energy, and be a co-creator in the community breakthrough energy that’s happening at my blog. Let us know what you experience as you see, but can’t touch that breakthrough energy, and what is on the other side of it.

If you would like to use this article in your newsletter or blog, please feel free to do so as long as you include our credit information: Written by Kathy Esper, Kathy Esper Enterprises, http:/www.KathyEsper.com. I would also appreciate it if you’d send us a copy for our media files. ©Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.

 

“Surprise” Openings to Opportunity

About 6 or 7 years ago was when I experienced my first significant shift in consciousness.  It lasted for close to a year, it rocked my world, and it changed my life.  It is at that time that I started my own business, and this change experience is something I share with other creative entrepreneurs who are leaders in their fields.  It’s also evidence that when you’re a creative entrepreneur, your inner world is absolutely connected to your business, even when your head tells you to keep that part of you separate.

One of the most fascinating things I am experiencing as I step into more of my Authentic Self both personally, and as the owner of a relationship business, is the people I am attracting.  I’m telling you honestly, it’s blowing me away. 

Those of you who have worked extensively with me know that the intuitive part of me has been multiple steps ahead of the physical part of me for all of my life.  It is the reason why I teach you how to create successful work from the “inside-out,” and how many of you are able to experience success and fulfillment with far fewer bumps in the road than I did. 

 Since that first significant shift I navigated years ago, I have been through several other “mini” shifts.  These lasted only about a month, and I handled them with much greater ease. 

Now, I find myself navigating another major shift that began a while back, and continues on.  While I am handling this shift light years better than I did as a “shift virgin,” , I can tell you that it’s still a Magical Mystery Tour filled with lots of twists, turns and surprises that express themselves through my business as well. 

One of the most unexpected (and welcome) surprises is the people I’m attracting to me.  Since I began working with my spiritual mentor, I am attracting colleagues and new friends who see life and business through the same eyes as I do.  We finish each other’s sentences, and actually “get” each other on a core level. 

The amazing thing is that as a business owner, the people who are meant to work with me are coming together at a rate that I haven’t experienced before, taking the clients’ experiences to a whole new level also. 

The Creative Coaches Collaborative was an amazing fit for the participants, and the Spring Retreats with the horses are already attracting people who will be such great connections for each other.  Some of them are clients I’ve known for a long time, others are re-entering my circle after a time apart, and still others are brand new. 

It’s very inspiring to imagine the transformational connections that will happen for these people through my business, as a result of bringing the inner and outer together.  Connections that they could not imagine, connections that will inspire and transform them, their work, and their relationships. 

While I cannot recall who said “Opportunity is the intersection between preparation and luck,” I know that these shifts in consciousness are the preparation that allows us to recognize people, circumstances, and horses that can invoke breakthroughs just when we need them.  The shifts open us up to recognize the surprises life brings to us. 

If inspiration, connection, and transformation feel like they’re calling you, perhaps the Creative Entrepreneurs Collaborative,  Allowing Freedom through the Spirit of the Horse Retreat or the Conscious Relationship Retreat will bring you just the surprise you’ve been preparing for…both inside and outside.

Create your own personal breakthrough energy, and be a co-creator in the community breakthrough energy that’s happening at my blog. Let us know what you experience as you see, but can’t touch that breakthrough energy, and what is on the other side of it. 

If you would like to use this article in your newsletter or blog, please feel free to do so as long as you include our credit information: Written by Kathy Esper, Kathy Esper Enterprises, http:/www.KathyEsper.com. I would also appreciate it if you’d send us a copy for our media files. ©Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.

 

Turning the Corner

We are all experiencing changes these days, and this is a good thing.  I’m seeing many of you turning a corner, and experiencing a deeper level of peace within yourself (which replaces fear and anxiety).  This is also accompanied by reinforcing results from the outside (like more money flowing in, new clients joining up). 

There’s a common reason that’s sparking these changes for you.

Those of you who have turned the corner are inspiring me with your courageous action and your trust.  You’re doing things differently in your business, and more times than not, that’s difficult.  And it can be pretty scary.  

As your patience pays off, you’re seeing positive feedback from the outside that you’re moving in the right direction.  Many would say you’re getting feedback from the Universe.  I know this is the outer environment reflecting (like a mirror) the inner shifts you are making. 

The common reason that those of you who have turned a corner to invoke positive results in your business share is that you’re building (or re-building) your business from the Inside-Out. 

The true inner shifts are precisely what is needed to do well in this climate we’re experiencing now.  And I believe in my bones this is the preparation for where all business is headed.  

It’s not something we’ve been used to for generations, but those who are blending the intangible, or what traditional business would call the “softer” skills, with the practical, more tangible skills are turning the corner.  It’s not a matter of one or the other; it’s truly a matter of allowing the intangible to fuel the tangible that makes the difference. 

In the Creative Coaches Collaborative, the system I have been teaching felt very nebulous at first, because I wasn’t teaching a hard and fast system like “the 5 steps to write your press release.”  Rather, I was teaching them how to read between the lines, make better decisions as the owner of a relationship business, and create stronger, sustainable results.  These women have blown me away with what they’re creating through this material. 

They definitely represent the caliber of women that come together in my programs.  The connections are as strong as the results they create as together they move beyond the material to integrate it internally, and transfer it into their businesses.  A few articles back, I had talked about how important having the right environment is to invoke breakthroughs, and magic does happen in these environments.
As the Creative Coaches Collaborative members worked through my Inside-Out signature process, they experienced transformations including… 

• Moving from anxious to (authentically) confident
• Moving from confusion to clarity
• Moving from analysis paralysis to Right Action
• Moving from status quo to possibilities
• Moving from being surprised by unwanted results to seeing them coming and moving before they can arrive 

It truly matters to me that creative entrepreneurs turn this corner, and get the information that comes in on different levels to complement your intellect.  This is how it’s beginning to work, and I believe is the sign of things to come. 

You can turn your corner, I know you can.

Create your own personal breakthrough energy, and be a co-creator in the community breakthrough energy that’s happening at my blog. Let us know what you experience as you see, but can’t touch that breakthrough energy, and what is on the other side of it. 

If you would like to use this article in your newsletter or blog, please feel free to do so as long as you include our credit information: Written by Kathy Esper, Kathy Esper Enterprises, http:/www.KathyEsper.com. I would also appreciate it if you’d send us a copy for our media files. ©Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.

 

Does this Baffle You Too?

It always baffles me when people say, “the only thing holding you back is you.”  What does that mean, really?  If you’re holding yourself back, and you want to go forward, invoke a breakthrough, or just make things ease-ier for yourself, where are you supposed to go with a comment like that? 

I used to hear that comment frequently, and it either frustrated me, or it made me feel bad about myself.  As if something was wrong with me, and sent me into a “not good enough” spiral

Now that I’ve discovered how to specifically identify some of the ways people “get in their own way,” the intellect can understand where to go with that statement.  Now my clients are able to see more clearly the choices that they have been making that get in their way, as well as better choices they might choose to make to get out of their own way.  It’s pretty cool.

What could be different if you could learn how to get out of your own way?   We all need an objective viewpoint to see this, and a 2-legged professional coach working with a 4-legged equine coach in Allowing Freedom through the Spirit of the Horse is a great way to discover where you’re holding yourself back and to invoke breakthrough energy.    Watch for my spring workshop schedule to learn more about this special workshop.

For today, let’s un-baffle your mind a little by exploring how this process of getting out of your own way works.

The tricky thing about holding yourself back is that on some level, you are hiding something from yourself.  Maybe this is because even though your authentic Self is ready to create something different, the brain senses that pain and stretching will be involved in stepping out of the comfort zone.  The brain is pretty masterful at creating different ways to get in your own way so that it can keep you safe and in a comfortable place.

Invoking a breakthrough at this stage can be nothing short of transformational.  One of the fastest, most authentic  ways to do this is to work with a professional coach and an equine coach because horses “do not read” what’s going on in your brain, so they can cut through where you’re blocking yourself effortlessly. 

Horses communicate with your Authentic Self 100% of the time.  So even when you can’t clearly communicate with that part of you, it’s the only part of you that the horse connects with.  And they connect with you on a cellular level, rather than an intellectual level, which allows you to really “get” the message, because you can feel it in your body.

This allows us to get down and dirty, to get to the heart of specific, clear ways that you hold yourself back.  As your coach, we can use simple, tangible tools to help you to more directly connect your Authentic Self with things in the tangible world, which allow the desires inside of you to take physical form (i.e. create change) because  you’re able to make better choices about how you move forward.  The best way I can describe this to you is to share some of the comments my own clients have used to describe it…

• Stunning
• Mind-blowing
• Powerful
• Transformational

Does the part of you that wants to keep you safe and comfortable sometimes hold you back from standing in your full power?  Consider who or what is on the other side of your breakthrough, and you’ll discover why this breakthrough matters so much for you and the people that matter most to you. 

Create your own personal breakthrough energy, and be a co-creator in the community breakthrough energy that’s happening at my blog. Let us know what you experience as you see, but can’t touch that breakthrough energy, and what is on the other side of it.

If you would like to use this article in your newsletter or blog, please feel free to do so as long as you include our credit information: Written by Kathy Esper, Kathy Esper Enterprises, http:/www.KathyEsper.com. I would also appreciate it if you’d send us a copy for our media files. ©Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.

 

3 Touchstones to Successfully Navigate Change

As we all continue to navigate the uncertainty in the current environment, I’m seeing and hearing lots of you grappling not only with the outer signs of uncertainty (e.g. job security, income level, relationship stability), whether you’re consciously aware of it or not, there’s a significant amount of inner grappling going on, and the vulnerability surrounding it is rocking confidence at core levels.  

The one guarantee we have in this life is that things will change. 

Most people do okay with change when it comes wrapped in a “high” energy package, when it’s seen as an exciting catalyst for growth.  We live in a world of duality though, and it’s a natural law that what goes up must come down, right?  

And that’s not a bad thing; it’s a natural, healthy part of the creative process.  When change comes with friction, or an uncomfortable energy, the perspective of change often shifts into a lower energy gear and, fear and anxiety are summoned.  This creates the conditions for a longer struggle than is necessary. 

When we begin to view and respond to the uncomfortable changes from a different perspective, things shift more ease-ily on the inside and the outside.  Think of Michael Beckwith’s profound wisdom teaching that “change happens through us, not to us,” as we go through the touchstones to navigate change. 

These touch points are not fancy-schmancy, and they’re not new.  They’ve been around for a while and have held up quite well over changing times.  Because there is an elegant simplicity to these touchstones, don’t underestimate the depth and breadth of the transformational power that lies underneath them.  

Touchstone #1 – The Voice of Your Authentic Self

You know you’re hearing this voice because every cell in your body let’s you know it.  You feel it in your bones.  This is not the voice of logic, although that voice can be a pivotal support for you in the creative process.  Sometimes we suppress the voice of the Authentic Self because we don’t understand it, or cant’ clearly transfer what it’s telling us into anything that’s been seen or done before.  Throughout the entire creative process, and particularly during challenging times, this touchstone is your absolute best friend.  You just need to be courageous enough to put it front and center, not relegate it to hiding behind the scenes.  Easier said than done! 

Touchstone #2 – Paying Attention to Your Impact on Others

I am seeing many people getting caught up in the introspective process.  They’re doing an unbelievable amount of inner work, searching for that authentic Self voice down multiple paths.  This is the shadow side of the first touchstone.  The inner work is crucial, no doubt about it.  

There comes a time though when you must begin to shift your focus outwardly.    Did you catch in the video link above how Julie Lynch, owner of Uncommon Consulting, did this seamlessly?  In our work with the horses, we focused on invoking breakthrough energy for her (introspective).  Once Julie could see what she couldn’t before, she naturally moved into leveraging that to serve her clients better.   And did you notice how confident Julie’s energy was?  That’s the energy that allows change to happen through you.  Bravo Julie!! 

Touchstone #3 – Challenge & Refinement

We never stop growing.  When I do vision work with my clients, we call it a Living Vision.  This sends the subliminal message that visions aren’t meant to be done once and left alone.  They are expressions of the authentic Self, and need focused attention to continue evolving.  So even when you are sure you are hearing the voice of your authentic Self, and that you are confident in how you are helping others, just check in.  Because the one guarantee we have is that things will change again! 

Create your own personal breakthrough energy, and be a co-creator in the community breakthrough energy that’s happening at my blog. Let us know what you experience as you see, but can’t touch that breakthrough energy, and what is on the other side of it. 

If you would like to use this article in your newsletter or blog, please feel free to do so as long as you include our credit information: Written by Kathy Esper, Kathy Esper Enterprises, http:/www.KathyEsper.com. I would also appreciate it if you’d send us a copy for our media files. ©Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.

 

3 Common Sticky Points

If you’re a regular reader, you are well aware that I adore the creative process, that it flows through all the work I do, and that the horses support people to getting to deeper sticky points than they can go on their own. 

As we all navigate this amazing shift, we’re on quite a challenging ride, both collectively, and through individual experiences.  Remember, that this is a creative process, and that each of us is being shown where we’re ready to step into more of our authentic selves.  This act will put you on the road to turning this challenge into a wonderful opportunity. 

In the spirit of supporting you to take a step in a new direction, I’ll share with you 3 Common Sticky Points that keep people running on the gerbil wheel, both personally and professionally. 

Many people spend a great deal of time and energy trying to breakthrough to a new experience, trying to keep their head above water, or trying to create happiness.  This is what running on a gerbil wheel looks and feels like for us humans.

The piece that I want for you to know about this experience is that you are hitting a normal part of the creative process.  Without being aware of it, you may be using old paradigms, actions and thinking to breakthrough and move beyond it.  For many people, what worked before is just not working for you now. 

Three common areas where I see people hit “sticky” points in the process (and this is where they have BIG opportunity to create breakthroughs!) are… 

One:  Not Creating Strong Enough Goals

Whether you prefer to create intentions (which are powerful in their own right, yet at some point, a corresponding goal must be created so that you can see results in the physical world), or whether you’re using a goal-setting approach that is not strong enough, you’ll have trouble creating the outcome you’re looking for.  

Neuro-linguisting programming (a/k/a NLP) technology has a proven process that the best of the best have been using for years.  My coach, who is an NLP master, taught me this process, and clients love it! 

Ask Yourself:  Am I consciously creating goals?  If yes, how strong is the process I’m creating these goals with? 

Two:  Why Does this Goal Matter?

Another very common sticky point is getting disconnected from why this goal matters.  Even the best of us get busy and disconnect from that bigger “why.”  This is a killer that will have you running that gerbil wheel like Roger Bannister (the first runner to break the 4-minute mile back in the 1950’s). 

Ask Yourself:    Is this goal and all the activities I’m doing to move towards it connected to my bigger vision and other authentic pieces of me?  If not, could I be self-sabotaging? 

Three:  What Needs to be Released?

Intellectually, we all know that in order to bring something new in, something else must go.  A very common sticky point in the creative process is that people are ready to release resistance, perspectives, fear or anxiety, yet they keep hitting the wall.  

Believe me, I know first-hand how challenging it can be to admit that something so familiar and so comfortable has to be released.  When you’re really, truly ready to move beyond the wall you’ve been hitting, you’ll summon the courage to step beyond this sticky point. 

Ask Yourself:  Is what I say I want really what I want? 

 We play with these concepts in unusual ways in “Allowing Freedom through the Spirit of the Horse,” a workshop that will begin this Spring.  Blending the mystical energy of the horses paired with the grounding structure in my process, supports many people to invoke breakthroughs and move forward in the creative process.

Ask Yourself:  Would that support me in stepping into the opportunity that’s in front of me right now? 

Create your own personal breakthrough energy, and be a co-creator in the community breakthrough energy that’s happening at my blog. Let us know what you experience as you see, but can’t touch that breakthrough energy, and what is on the other side of it. 

If you would like to use this article in your newsletter or blog, please feel free to do so as long as you include our credit information: Written by Kathy Esper, Kathy Esper Enterprises, http:/www.KathyEsper.com. I would also appreciate it if you’d send us a copy for our media files. ©Copyright 2010. All rights reserved.KATHY ESPER  

Kathy Esper is the Practical Creator Coach, and the creator of Cracking Your Success Code through the Spirit of the Horse, which support many people to experience the kind of success that feels good and you can be proud of. Combining information & inspiration with the mystical nature of the horse creates the intersection where breakthrough energy can explode.Kathy is a Professional Certified Coach through the ICF, a Certified Equine- Facilitated Experiential Learning instructor, and holds her MBA from Babson College, the nation’s premier entrepreneurial school.

 

Kathy doesn’t want you to overlook this…

As we emerge from what I’m calling the Information Overload Era, the quiet power of relationship, which has long been a passion of mine, has captured my attention again.  

This nudge’s timing is perfect as leading edge coaches and I continue moving into unprecedented territory in support of ourselves, the purity of our craft and our clients.  The value of relationship skills clearly extend to non-coaching entrepreneurs and other partnerships as well.  Think spouses, parent-child, co-authors, and business partners.  

Those of you who have been in this community for a while will remember that I have sprinkled my perspective that the breakdown of relationship skills is the source of the breakdown in our major institutions including marriage, education, and business.  As the focus for entrepreneurs’ moves to rebuilding business now, I recently read that the divorce rate in the US is improving.  By small percentages, yes, though we’re moving in the right direction.  

Based on these signals as well as others, I know now is the right time to re-focus attention on the quiet power of relationship, which is already woven into the Creative Studio and Spirit of the Horse programs.  Watch for more of it to come into the spotlight through private programs for partnerships. 

For the scope of this article though, on Wed we’ll look at some of the reasons WHY this is so important for YOU, and on Fri I’ll give you some easy ways to begin paying attention to it in your own partnerships. 

Share your views on the blog… How is the state of your relationships informing your results right now?